Who Knew?
by Kyle Smith
Summary: Rating for now. Title has nothing to do with the story at the moment, but the emotion was so strong, even in this first chapter, that it made me sad just writing it.
1. Chapter One

Who Knew?  
Chapter One  
  
Hiding under her scarlet bedcovers in the Gryffindor Girls' Dormitories, Hermione cried silently. Her life confused her beyond belief, and being fifteen years old didn't help.  
  
Of course, she'd been thrilled when her mother had told her the news of her baby brother, who was due in June, but things had turned sour between her parents shortly after. Hermione remembered waking up at 2 o'clock in the morning to the sound of their bitter arguments floating through the house. Before she knew it, they were telling her of the divorce. **Flashback**  
  
"No!" She'd screamed through shocked tears. "You are in love, you can get through this!"  
  
But her father had been stern. "Hermione, we've been trying to work this out from the day it started. It isn't working. I'm sorry." He placed a hand on her shoulder. She jerked away, quite disgusted. A wave of intense pain rippled across his tired face.  
  
"You're not sorry." She hissed at them, angry tears now streaming furiously down her face. Her chocolate brown eyes were bloodshot and her hair was a mess, but she couldn't have cared less.  
  
Her mother shook her head and retreated to a chair, her face in her hands.  
  
Her father tried again. "We don't want this any more than you do, Herm. There's no other choice."  
  
She nodded curtly. "Fine. FINE! I hate you!" Hermione turned on her heel and ran up the stairs to her room. She threw open the door, slammed it, and locked it all in one motion. She ran to her bed and threw herself onto it, sobbing into her pillow.  
  
'I hate them. I hate them.' She thought wrathfully. She knew she didn't mean it, but it made her feel better. She didn't understand how this could happen to a couple that had, weeks before, been so in love and happy. They had a beautiful house, an amazingly intelligent witch daughter, and a perfect relationship. 'It just doesn't make any sense.' She thought again.  
  
That night, she cried herself to sleep.  
  
**End Flashback**  
  
Thoughts like these were still flitting across Hermione's mind as she hugged her knees under her covers, tears streaming quickly and easily down her face.  
  
It was only 6:30 PM on September 2nd of her fifth year, and Hermione was already in bed. She knew it was the only time she could be alone with her thoughts.  
  
The door to the dormitories squeaked open.  
  
"Hermione?" A timid voice that Hermione recognized as Ginny's floated into the room.  
  
She quickly wiped her eyes and laid down, but not before Ginny heard her sniffle. "Yes?" She replied, the covers still pulled up over her head.  
  
Her four-poster bed sank a little as Ginny sat down.  
  
"Why weren't you at dinner?" Ginny asked hesitantly.  
  
"I'm not hungry."  
  
Ginny sighed and pulled the cover down. "Hermione, what's wrong? Tell me."  
  
Hermione started to reply rudely, as she'd been doing a lot since the news, but bit her tongue. She had no reason to snap at Ginny, she was one of her best friends. She was easier to talk to about certain things than Harry and Ron, for sure. She sighed and sat up.  
  
Ginny looked at her sympathetically. "Harry and Ron asked me to see what's wrong. They're really concerned."  
  
A slight smile crossed Hermione's face for the first time in a while. She knew that Ron liked her, but she was too preoccupied to figure out if she liked him as well. She also knew that Ginny's crush on Harry had only increased over the summer, when he'd gone to stay with the Weasleys. Rumor had it that they'd kissed, but she didn't know she could trust Fred and George with such information.  
  
She sighed.  
  
Ginny smiled a little, wiping away one of Hermione's tears.  
  
"Tell me everything."  
  
Hermione smiled her first genuine smile in a long time.  
  
"Okay."  
  
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That's the end of the first chapter. . .REVIEW PLEASE!! 


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: Thanks to the reviewers, I'm glad there were no flames! ^_^ This is my first time writing this sort of story, usually I write fluffy, OOC romance stories or just plain stupid, funny ones, but this one is really serious. My parents divorced when I was 4, and I cried at night when I missed my Daddy, but I must admit, that it has to be harder when you've grown up in a perfect environment, and suddenly it falls apart. One of my friends' parents are divorcing now, and she's almost a teenager, and this story sort of reflects that. At the moment she's mad at me, but she's going through some rough things right now, so I just have to let her be. By the way, if anyone would take the time to tell me how to get the bold, underlined, and italic words to show up on the site, I'd much appreciate it! ^_^ ******************************************************************** Who Knew? Chapter Two  
  
Hermione did tell Ginny *everything.* She told her about her brother, the divorce, the new schedule, her classes, and the thoughts she'd been having toward Ron. Ginny was surprisingly easy to talk to, even about Ron. As good as she felt after she told her, Hermione still couldn't stop her thoughts from drifting back to her parents and the divorce.  
  
Eventually, Ginny convinced Hermione to wash her face, fix her hair, and come down to the common room.  
  
As soon as she set foot on the stairs, Fred nudged Ron in the side. He glared at him, curious and annoyed as to why he'd interrupted his chess game. Then Fred pointed in Hermione's direction. Ron followed his gaze and his face instantly brightened when he saw Hermione. He then whacked Harry's arm, who jumped and spun around to look at the staircase. He looked happy to see Hermione, but even happier to see the petite, redheaded girl behind her.  
  
Hermione felt uneasy, having so many people look at her at the same time, and started to turn around again to go upstairs, but Ginny held her hands out and nearly pushed her down the stairs.  
  
Sighing, Hermione made her way over to Harry, Ron, and their forgotten chess game.  
  
"Hermione! You look like you're feeling better." Ron exclaimed eagerly, smiling.  
  
Hermione let a small smile play across her lips and she glanced at Ginny before returning to Ron. "A little."  
  
"Well that's good," Harry put in. "What-"  
  
"I don't think she wants to talk about it again, Harry." Ginny said quietly. Surprisingly, Harry nodded.  
  
"Yeah, you're probably right, Gin." He smiled at her.  
  
Hermione and Ron exchanged glances with raised eyebrows and grins. Hermione looked at Ginny and noted the pink appearing on her cheeks, and was surprised to see that Harry also was blushing.  
  
As she looked between them, it struck her. Harry and Ginny were in love. Of course, she was happy for her friends, but she couldn't help masking another emotion she felt.  
  
Jealousy?  
  
****************************************************************  
  
((A/N: There are no words to describe how much I DON'T like that part of the chapter. It seemed, I don't know how to put it, but I didn't like it. Hopefully I'll like this better.))  
  
Things had run smoothly for Hermione for a couple weeks after that. Though, she was sort of bothered by Harry's and Ginny's behavior around others.  
  
Ginny was ceaselessly playing with Harry's hair and it seemed that he always had his arm around her.  
  
She covered her jealousy well around them both, though it was hard.  
  
A lot of things were hard for Hermione.  
  
For instance, in Potions Class, Snape had thought it amusing to give everyone partners. Ron was partnered with Parvati, and Harry with Crabbe. Hermione, however, was partnered with none other than Pansy Parkinson.  
  
Pansy never shut up during class and did absolutely nothing. It was constantly, "Chop up the worm livers, Mudblood,"  
  
or,  
  
"You can test the potion, maybe it'll poison you."  
  
Hermione could hardly take it anymore.  
  
In fact, she couldn't.  
  
After a particularly difficult assignment in Double Potions, she lost it. She shouted several 'unsuitable' words and phrases to the pug-faced girl, completely forgetting that anyone else was in the room.  
  
"And you have absolutely NO idea what I've been through this year!"  
  
She finished her fury with such a statement, and settled back into her seat, extremely red in the face.  
  
She was well aware that everyone in the room was staring at her, including Snape.  
  
She glanced up at the teacher, who, besides looking bewildered, looked rather amused. He strode quickly over to her, his black robes swishing softly behind him.  
  
"Might I ask, Miss Granger," He began coolly. "What truth your outburst held?"  
  
Hermione gulped, still very red, and looked him square in the eye. "I'm afraid that's rather personal, Professor."  
  
He held her gaze for a moment, then arched a greasy eyebrow. "Very well. Fifty points from Gryffindor, and I will be assigning you a tutor for my class."  
  
The room was filled with gasps from the Gryffindors.  
  
"Fifty!"  
  
"She said it was personal!"  
  
"So unfair. . ."  
  
"Silence!" Snape growled at the class, which immediately went dead silent. He then turned back to Hermione. "Another ten points for your oh-so-loyal Gryffindor friends, and we can't forget your tutor."  
  
Snape smiled a horrible, disgusting smile, and turned slowly to the other side of the room.  
  
Hermione looked quickly in the same direction. She winced and barely held in a groan.  
  
Snape beckoned one of his favorite students, still smirking.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ooh, I definitely liked that better! **breathes in deeply** Anger, tension, misery. . **coughs and snaps out of it** review! 


	3. Chapter Three

A/N: **dies** Omigosh, it has been FOREVER since I've written on this story! I'm sooo sorry. Recent events have distracted me - a boy at my school committed suicide. A friend of mine, well to tell the truth I knew her brother better, also committed suicide when she found out she had HIV. I apologize for this extremely late chapter. I'll make this one extra-long, if that'll make up for anything. ^_^  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
A loud thud sounded through the dungeon classroom as Hermione's head came down onto the table - hard. Malfoy? Tutoring HER? It was unthinkable. But apparently Snape had that ability. Why, though?  
  
Hermione stood up and began walking toward her greasy-haired professor. But he held up a thin hand.  
  
"Questions, Ms Granger?"  
  
Hermione started to answer him, but he waved his hand and returned to his desk.  
  
"Then see me after class."  
*****  
  
Hermione was still fuming by the end of the lesson. It was the last lesson of the day, which was fortunate. She didn't think she could keep her head together in another.  
  
All through the lesson, Hermione had been spilling things, knocking bottles over, and even burned a hole in poor Neville's shoe.  
  
Now was the time to rant and rave. She pushed back the bench she had been sitting on, which squeaked loudly, and walked shakily over to the professor's desk. Students were still filing out of the room. She glanced back and saw Harry and Ron waiting just outside the door. Hermione waved them off, as if to say 'I'll see you at dinner.' And they disappeared down the hall.  
  
She turned back to Snape and waited for him to notice her standing there.  
  
"Yes?" He questioned, not looking up from what he was doing.  
  
Hermione jumped slightly, but took a breath.  
  
"Professor, *why* must I have a tutor? I've got top marks in every class, I do everything right and - "  
  
"Come here, Mr Malfoy." Snape finally looked up, to see a surprised Hermione standing in front of him and a rather confused Draco Malfoy three steps from the door.  
  
While Malfoy made his way over to the desk, Snape leaned in towards Hermione.  
  
"As I'm sure you don't know, Ms Granger," he hissed. "Your grades are suffering horribly in my class. If I don't get someone to tutor you, and someone good at that, you will fail." Snape put cruel emphasis on the last three words. Hermione stumbled backwards off the raised platform that Snape's desk sat crookedly upon. She would have fallen on the cold dungeon floor, had she not been caught involuntarily by rather muscular arms.  
  
Whirling around to see who had caught her, she saw it was none other than Draco Malfoy. A trademark smirk fought to find its way into place on a pale face, but he was indeed having trouble. Giving up, he pushed her away slightly and brushed off his robes sarcastically.  
  
"I'm going to need a shower after that." Malfoy growled maliciously. He stopped in front of the first desk in the room, and looked up at Professor Snape. Hermione mumbled something and sat down on the edge of the bench, also watching the professor expectantly.  
  
"As I said before, Mr Malfoy will be tutoring Ms Granger. . ." Snape stopped for a moment as if to let the cruel words sink in, then he continued. "Every night after dinner in Dungeon 6."  
  
Hermione groaned. 'Could my life possibly get any worse?' She thought.  
  
She shouldn't have.  
  
"Beginning tonight." Snape delivered the last two words with a disgusting sneer upon his sickly face. He returned to his work and waved them both off with his left hand.  
  
"Dismissed."  
  
******  
  
Hermione ran down the hallway as quickly as possible, which she knew was against school rules. She didn't care. The less she saw of that disgusting git - Malfoy, that is - the better. She turned a corner and found she was lost.  
  
Groaning, she slumped against the jagged stone wall and pulled her knees to her chest. Tears threatened to pour down her cheeks again, but she fought them successfully. Hermione swallowed and stood up, and found she knew exactly where she was.  
  
A sigh of relief escaped lips as she spotted the portrait of the Fat Lady at the end of the corridor. She began to run towards it as if it was beckoning her with open arms.  
  
"Where are you running to, Ms Granger?" A cold, amused voice pierced the air. Hermione recognized it as none other than Draco Malfoy.  
  
She stopped dead. Should she keep running, and escape into the common room?  
  
No. Then, not only would he know where the Gryffindor common room was, he'd know how to get in. Glancing back towards the portrait, she found she had no choice. The Fat Lady was gone, and a 'Be back in an hour' sign was in her place.  
  
Hermione checked her watch. Dinner was over. She had no choice now but to go to Dungeon 6.  
  
With *Malfoy.*  
  
Hermione turned on her heel and walked quickly down the corridor - past Malfoy. He whirled around and ran to catch up with her.  
  
"In a hurry now, are we?"  
  
She didn't answer. She wanted to get this over as quickly as possible.  
  
No such luck.  
  
*******  
  
When they finally reached their designated dungeon, Hermione threw her bag onto a desk and sat down, resting her chin in her hand, elbow propped up on the table.  
  
"Right then. How shall we begin?" Malfoy asked sardonically. "We'll take attendance. Of course." Malfoy pulled out an imaginary scroll and pretended to read names from it.  
  
"Granger, Hermione?" Hermione rolled her eyes and shifted uncomfortably. That was the first time he'd ever said her name, even sarcastically.  
  
Malfoy narrowed his eyes at Hermione and mocked reading the rest of the scroll.  
  
"Malfoy, Draco? Ah, yes, indeed." Seeing Hermione was clearly not amused, Malfoy rolled his eyes and seated himself on a bench across the aisle from Hermione.  
  
"Okay, not like I really care, but what is WRONG with you, Granger? I can say anything - do anything, for that matter - and you won't do a thing." He stared at her incredulously.  
  
Hermione shrugged and stood up. She walked over to the wall and leaned against it, facing Malfoy.  
  
"You wouldn't understand."  
  
Malfoy narrowed his eyes skeptically and walked over to her. Standing in front of her, Hermione realized that if he had wanted to trap her there, he could. Malfoy stood almost half a foot taller than she, and Quidditch had done him good. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut for a second, opening them again only when such thoughts were out of her mind.  
  
"Try me." Malfoy prompted, the mocking tone in his voice gone.  
  
Hermione tilted her head. What was this - a new Draco Malfoy? She shook her head. No way.  
  
"Why should I?"  
  
Malfoy smirked.  
  
"Because otherwise, we're never going to get any work done, Granger."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes again.  
  
"You actually think there are things about Potions that you know - and I don't?"  
  
Malfoy stepped back slightly.  
  
"As a matter of fact, I do." He hissed.  
  
"Oh, like what? Oh, silly me. Dark Arts, of course." Hermione replied, slightly angry now.  
  
Malfoy's hands clenched into fists. Hermione scoffed.  
  
"Going to hit me, Malfoy?"  
  
Malfoy sneered.  
  
"No. I'm going to do something *much* worse."  
  
Malfoy stepped forward, put one hand on each side of Hermione's face, and kissed her.  
  
*****  
  
Not realizing what was happening, Hermione melted into the kiss for a second. Then she took it in.  
  
'Oh my God!' Her head screamed. 'I'm kissing MALFOY!' Hermione jerked back and hit her head hard on the sharp wall.  
  
"What the HELL do you think you're doing?" Hermione screamed.  
  
Malfoy smirked.  
  
"Something much worse than hitting you, that's what." He stood in front of her again, close enough to kiss her again. Chocolate brown eyes locked with steely grey ones for a moment. Hermione swore she could see Malfoy's eyes softening somewhat.  
  
"Tell me, Her-" Malfoy cursed under his breath. "Granger. What is wrong with you?"  
  
Hermione thought for a moment. Should she tell him?  
  
'No! Don't tell him, it's Malfoy, for pity's sakes!' She thought. Hermione shook her head.  
  
"I can't, Malfoy." Hermione glanced at the clock in the corner of the room.  
  
Thank goodness.  
  
Hermione ducked under one of Malfoy's arms and strode quickly over to her bag. She slung it over her shoulder and began to walk towards the door.  
  
"Excellent lesson, Professor Malfoy." She called sarcastically over her shoulder. "Looking forward to our next meeting." Hermione laughed slightly, and walked out of the door.  
  
Little did she know that she would indeed enjoy their next meeting.  
  
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A/N: MUAHAHA! Suspense. . . **cough** Anyway, I'm sorry again for the wait and PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!! **bounces** NOW! 


	4. Chapter Four

A/N: :-D Thankies guys! *Huggles all the reviews to death* *Giggles at 'Nana* I intend to finish, thank you. *Snogs CoT* *Shushes* I'm not KyKy... *Shifty eyes* Alright then, on with the story!  
  
Who Knew?  
  
Chapter Four ------------  
  
The next few nights of after-dinner sessions with Malfoy were Hell for Hermione. In fact, the next few days were Hell. Ginny seemed not to notice, or care, for that matter, that some people might be absolutely disgusted by hers and Harry's public display of affection. People like Hermione, for example. And the worst part was that she could do nothing about it. She had to sit and watch painfully as they hugged, snuggled, snogged, or anything of the sort. But she could occupy herself sometimes by thinking back to her own kissing incident. With who? Malfoy, of course.  
  
It had been very sudden, and VERY unexpected. Hermione would deny under Chinese water torture that she had enjoyed it, but she couldn't lie to herself. The memory of his soft lips pressed gently against hers lingered in her mind late at night, and was on her mind as soon as she awoke. And going to tutoring sessions every night was not making it easier for Hermione to forget it.  
  
This particular Wednesday night, the time seemed to be dragging by so slowly. One minute felt like an hour or two, and Hermione had finished her homework long before half-past six. Apparently, Draco had too, as his head was now laid on his arms, which were folded across the desk, his eyes closed peacefully. Hermione couldn't help but watch him take his nap. His face was almost angelic, Hermione thought, as a stray lock of silver-blond hair fell across Draco's face. It must have startled him, for he jerked awake immediately. Hermione snapped her gaze away from him, pretending to be fiddling with her bracelet.  
  
"What time is it?" Draco asked groggily, squinting at the clock.  
  
"Quarter to seven." She replied, gathering her things and placing them in a neat pile to occupy herself. She felt his eyes on her, a prickling sensation at the back of her neck. She shivered slightly and glanced over warily.  
  
Hermione was startled to see that Draco was indeed staring at her, an odd expression on his face. Perhaps he, too, was remembering the first tutoring session they had had. She licked her lips involuntarily. She would never admit it, but she wanted badly to have Draco's pale pink lips press softly against her own once again. It might have turned into a fantasy, had Draco not spoken.  
  
"Feel like telling me what's wrong with you?"  
  
She nearly snapped back instantly, not considering the question. Now she turned it over in her mind. Would she feel better telling Draco than she had telling Ginny? Hmm. It was possible.  
  
"I might." She responded simply. Draco grabbed her hands and pulled her up by her wrists, leaving his hands clasped tightly around them when she was standing.  
  
"Yes or no."  
  
"If I say yes, will you let go of me?" She squirmed, but Draco's hold on her was tight.  
  
"Maybe."  
  
She sighed. "C'mon Malfoy. This isn't funny." She fought harder than ever to get away, but Draco fought more than ever to hold her there.  
  
"I know. Tell me and I'll let go."  
  
"Ugh! Son of a bitch!" She whispered. Then she sighed. "Promise?"  
  
"Promise." His grip eased slightly on her wrists, but he still held on firmly.  
  
"This year, my mum told me she was going to have a baby. Of course, I was thrilled. Who wouldn't be? But then my father told me that they were getting a divorce. Do you know what that is?"  
  
Draco nodded curtly. "Of course I do. Continue."  
  
"Well, that's pretty much it. That's why I was so. . .out of it the first couple of weeks. That's why I went off at Pansy. That's why I've been ignoring my parents' letters. That's why I'm failing Potions. That's why you're here right now. That's why. . ." She trailed off, the lump in her throat and tears shimmering in her eyes keeping her from continuing further.  
  
Draco shifted awkwardly, letting go of her as promised. "Oh. . ."  
  
Hermione let a tear slide down her cheek and onto her blouse, looking down at the floor.  
  
"Is there, err, anything I can do?" Draco nearly kicked himself for asking. What the hell was he doing? Offering help to Granger?! But she looked so helpless, lost, and oddly attractive. . .  
  
"Anything you can do?" Hermione looked up, surprised. "What do you mean?"  
  
Draco stepped closer, placing a hand on Hermione's waist. "Anything I can do to help. Anything I can do to make you feel better, maybe.."  
  
Hermione shivered. Draco had his hand on her waist..by choice? She hadn't put it there, and no one else had. Draco must have.  
  
"There might be.." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Hermione felt Draco's hand under her chin, lifting her face to meet his.  
  
"What would that be?" He asked in a slightly throaty voice that sent shivers down Hermione's spine.  
  
"I think you know." She whispered. Her eyes fluttered shut as she felt Draco's lips on her own again. How she loved the way his body fit with hers perfectly. Her arms raised and wrapped around his neck as he brought his other hand to her waist. She felt his tongue slide into her mouth.  
  
'Oh God. This is not happening. Oh my God.' Hermione's thoughts were all jumbled around, and she didn't bother trying to make sense of them. The only thing she was aware of was that she was kissing Draco Malfoy.  
  
"'Mione?" A familiar voice echoed with shock in the nearly empty dungeon. Hermione froze.  
  
No.  
  
It couldn't be.  
  
God couldn't be that cruel.  
  
Could He?  
  
Hermione pulled away instantly and nearly fell over the bench. Her gaze averted quickly, from Draco's frosty eyes and sexy smirk that had come over his face, to the figure in the doorway. She knew that figure. It was a tall, thin, red-headed figure with dull gray eyes.  
  
Oh no.  
  
"R-Ron?"  
  
---------  
  
A/N: Hmmm...well...that was fun to write. *Cackles* Review please! 


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